One On The Bund at Clifford Pier to close

SINGAPORE - Contemporary Chinese restaurant One On The Bund at Clifford Pier will be closing early next year.

Its lease ends in the first quarter of the year and a new restaurant will open in its place.

The new unnamed dining concept will be part of The Fullerton Bay Hotel and is slated to open in the second quarter of next year. It will be managed by The Fullerton Heritage, which currently has a portfolio of seven properties including Clifford Pier, The Fullerton Hotel and The Fullerton Bay Hotel.

One On The Bund, which spans more than 10,000 sqft, opened five years ago to much fanfare. The Shanghai-inspired restaurant features four dining concepts - a noodle bar, a restaurant, a dessert bar and a cocktail bar.

Over the years, it has been a popular venue for high-profile events such as the exclusive Johnnie Walker Jet Black Party, the launch party for luxury brand Louis Vuitton's Island Mansion store, and public whisky tasting event Whisky Live.

The restaurant's owner, Hong Kong-based chef-restaurateur Calvin Yeung (right), and The Fullerton Heritage, decided mutually earlier this month to close the restaurant and replace it with another concept.

He will be opening a new concept at Orchard Gateway, a new mall in Orchard Road, in the first quarter of next year.

The main reason for One On The Bund's closure is the ending of its lease, a spokesman for The Fullerton Heritage says.

Mr Giovanni Viterale, general manager of The Fullerton Heritage, says: "As Clifford Pier also currently functions as the arrival area of The Fullerton Bay Hotel, we treasure this opportunity to review how the expansive space can be integrated more closely with The Fullerton Bay Hotel experience."

The new Clifford Pier restaurant will be conceptualised by Hong Kong designer Andre Fu of design company AFSO. Mr Fu is also behind the interiors of The Fullerton Bay Hotel's public spaces and its three food and beverage concepts - The Landing Point, Clifford restaurant and Lantern rooftop bar.

The pier was built in 1933 and used to be the entry point for immigrants arriving in Singapore. It was later converted into a terminal for small boats and ferries that serviced Singapore's Southern Islands until 2006.

The conservation building was then renovated for 18 months and relaunched in 2008 with the opening of One On The Bund.

Of The Fullerton Bay Hotel's new concept, Mr Viterale will say only that it will be one that is "aligned with Clifford Pier's momentous role in the history of Singapore".